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| Terror Networks |
| SOF's Evolving Role: Warfare "By, With, and Through" Local Forces |
| 2017-05-09 |
| [Cipher Brief] The role of U.S. special operations forces (SOF) in the Middle East has expanded steadily since the inception of the counter-ISIS campaign in 2014. In part, this expansion is due to the metastasis of ISIS into Libya, Yemen, and other countries beyond its major land-holding presence in Iraq and Syria. But the most notable feature of the expanded U.S. SOF role in the Middle East has been its work alongside indigenous forces in Iraq and Syria. Conventional and coalition forces provide additional numbers of troops. What makes this campaign so unusual is that U.S. forces are not providing the muscle of the frontline combat troops. Instead, the campaign is conducted "by, with, and through" others, a Special Forces phrase that the CENTCOM commander, General Joseph Votel, has adopted to call attention to this new way of warfighting. If the counter-ISIS campaign succeeds in dislodging ISIS from Iraq and Syria, this approach is more likely to be considered for other, similar conflicts. During seven weeks visiting Iraq, Syria, and neighboring countries this year, I observed three major changes in how the campaign accounts for its increasing momentum. First, the number of advisers and supporting forces has now reached a level that can provide meaningful support to the variety of indigenous forces fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria. That number is hovering around 10,000, including forces deployed in-country on temporary duty. Special operations forces are advising a variety of partners, including the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (CTS), tribal forces and Iraqi Kurds. In Syria, they are assisting Kurdish groups, particularly the YPG (Popular Protection Units), and a variety of Arab forces. As in Afghanistan, U.S. SOF count on major support from their closest SOF partners in Britain, Australia, and Canada, as well as the Danes, Norwegians, and French. While SOF are at the forefront of the tactical-level advising, U.S. and coalition conventional forces have been training forces at five main bases and advising at the headquarters level. The second major change has been in how these advisers are used. The special operations forces have become progressively more dispersed and now accompany the indigenous forces to a secure location near the front lines. This means that they are no longer attempting to provide tactical advice from headquarters, where they must analyze battlefield operations through the soda-straw perspective of drone feeds. They do still advise commanders of indigenous forces at the senior level, which is a critical function, but now they can also observe units in action to better advise their tactics. In East Mosul, movement of advisers to the 16th Iraq army division provided critical assistance to galvanize that unit. U.S. and coalition SOF have also played a significant role in helping to rebuild the CTS, Iraq’s SOF, which has led every major battle in the counter-ISIS campaign and has suffered heavy casualties as a result. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #4 Or Bing West; The Village is an interesting read. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2017-05-09 17:45 |
| #3 This part of the Unconventional Warfare (UW) or Foreign Internal Defense (FID) depending on whether the students are regular or irregular troops. It has been a part of the SOF mission since the 1950's. |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2017-05-09 13:25 |
| #2 Yeah, it's worked really well. /sarc I hope this guy enjoyed his 7 week immersion. Where's Michael Yon? |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2017-05-09 13:18 |
| #1 Thinking back to Vietnam, this is actually what they were started for; 'advisors', 'trainers', etc. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2017-05-09 10:23 |